Senator Wants Data on Wounded Warrior Project, a Charity Under Fire

A week after the top executives of the Wounded Warrior Project were fired amid accusations of lavish spending, an influential senator on a committee that oversees nonprofit organizations is asking for a detailed accounting by the country’s largest veterans’ charity.

In a letter Friday to the Wounded Warrior Project, Senator Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican who sits on the Finance Committee, said that recent news media reports had raised questions about the charity’s treatment of employees and its spending. An article in The New York Times described the charity’s work environment as hostile and detailed lavish spending that included millions on staff retreats, food and drinks. “If true, these allegations are a breach of faith with donors, taxpayers, and, more importantly, veterans,” the letter said.

Mr. Grassley asked the charity’s interim leader, Anthony Odierno, to provide an account of spending not listed on tax forms, including expenses for travel and meetings as well as public relations, lobbying and an industry group called the Charity Defense Council. Though the charity is not legally obligated to respond, a spokeswoman for Mr. Grassley’s office said other major nonprofit groups, including the Red Cross and the Nature Conservancy, had complied with requests in the past. The Wounded Warrior Project said in a statement it planned to cooperate.

The charity’s chief executive, Steven Nardizzi, contacted Mr. Grassley’s office in February after the allegations surfaced to offer assurances that the spending was appropriate, but last week Mr. Nardizzi was abruptly fired, along with the charity’s chief operating officer, Al Giordano.

“Significant questions remain as to whether or not WWP is properly performing its side of the bargain for veterans and taxpayers alike,” the letter said.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: Senator Wants Accounting of Wounded Warrior Project. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe